The Crusades: What were they and why are they still relevant?

Media portrayals of the Crusades depict them as fierce battles between Christian knights and Muslim warriors, while some suggest that they were an episode in a wider clash of civilizations between the Western Christian world and the Muslim Middle East. But are these depictions accurate? In this forum, we’ll look for an answer to this question, considering both the historical realities of the period and its impact on the modern world.

Niall Christie holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of The Book of the Jihad of ‘Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami (d. 1106): Text, Translation and Commentary.